Mail-bag collecting and delivering apparatus.



W. M. BANKS.

MAIL BAG COLLECTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1909.

Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

5 SHBBT8BHBBT 1.

William/M Banks N W. M. BANKS.

MAIL BAG COLLECTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1909.

Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SH BET 2 wumto'n um I mum at mo-umlmm WWHIQTDN a c.

W. M. BANKS.

MAIL BAG COLLECTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.23,1909

953,578. Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Banifs ull/hm zoo e0 W. M. BANKS.

MAIL BAG GOLLEGTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIOH TILED NOV. 23, 1909.

Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

, Mb M. y w

IKE/humane ANDREW a GRAMM co, WOYO-LIINOGRAPME l-S WASMNGTGN n c W. M. BANKS.

MAIL BAG COLLECTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1909.

Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

gm wanton Banks NU 1 1 c was UNITED STATES PATLEQNT OFFICE.

WILLIAM M. BANKS, OF COAL CREEK, TENNESSEE.

MAILBAG COLLECTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2!). 15310.

Application filed November 23. 1909. Serial No. 529.609.

To (1H whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I. lViLLiAM M. BANKS. a citizen of the l nited States, residing at Coal Creek, in the county of Anderson and State of Tennessee, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Collecting and Delivering Apparatus. of which the 't'ollowing is a speeitieation.

This invention relates to mail hag reeeiving and delivering apparatus. and has for an object to provide simple and novel means whereby niail bags may he delivered front fast moving trains without mutilating or otherwise injuring the eontents of the bag.

Another object is to provide means for delivering a bag to a station siniultaneouslv upon the operation of reeeiving one from the. station.

Another object is to provide uiail hag reeeiving and delivering apparatus whieh is situated at a point upon a ear and movable so that it can he used from either side. novel means heing employed whereby the apparatus will he moved into the car automatieallv after the delivering and receiving operation.

Another objeet. is to provide a. receiving reeeptaele wherein means are employed for holding the hag against removal. the said re eeptaele being designed for use in connection with the apparatus at the receiving station.

Another object is to provide apparatus which is movable in the ear and desigl'ied to he held normally therein and to he extended therefrom at the will of the operator, means being provided for holding the apparatus in its extended position prior to the reeeiving and delivering of mail bags and for moving the apparatus autoinatieally hack to its normal position.

Another ohjeet is to provide adjustahle reeeiving and delivering apparatus upon the ear \vhieh may he aeenratelv adjusted to operatively eoiiperate with the receiving and delivering apparatus at. the station.

The ahove mentioned and other ohjeotsare attained lay the construction. eonihination and arrangement of parts. as diselosed on the drawings. set forth in this speeifioation. and partirularlv pointed out in the a'ppend ed claims.

in the drawings. forming a portion of this specification and in whieh like eharaeters of referent-e indieate siniilar parts in the several viewsk l ignre l is a sectional eleva tion of a portion of a ear showing the ear rarried rereiving and delivering apparatus operativelv positioned with respert to the reoeiving and delivering apparatus at the station. Fig. 2 is a detail vertiral seetion taken on the line 1%2 oi Fig. 1. Fig. I is a. transverse seetion taken on the line 3- -3 of Fig. 2. Fig. r is detail perspeetive view of the keeper. Fig. 71 is a horizontal sei-tion taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. i is a detail seetion taken on the line o '1 of Fig. 1. Fig. T is a detail seetion taken through a portion of the turn-table showing the spring tension carriage return drum. Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of a. portion of the rar harried hag delivering apparatus. Fig. El is a seetional elevation taken on the line 9 t) of Fig. i. Fig. 10 is a delail set-lion talien through a portion of the receiving reeeptaele. Fig. ii is a detail perspective view of the bag retainer. Fig. 12 i a detail elevation of a portion of the ear rarried hag delivering apparatus. Fig. 13 is a detail view of one of the pivoted roller supporting liraeltets oti the hag eolleeting and delivering nieehanisin.

The apparatus is designed for use in conneetion with a ear oi the type shown at B in Fig. 1 ol the drawings, the said rar living of the type usually employed in the railway niail serviee. it being provided at its sides with the usual doorways U. Upon the hottoni ot the ear is mounted a t'lilth 1 upon \vhieh the rollers 2 of a turn-talile 2% travel. This turn-table is preferably of reetangular form and is pivoted for horizontal rotation upon the hottoin ot' the ear. The turn-table has its side portions lsuitalilv spare-(l troin eat-h other and priuided upon their outer fares with longitinlinallv extending guideways or rails 5. :ltli consisting preferably of a pair of suitably spaced angle-iron nienihers as hown in l ig. l ol" the drawingl's. The turntable supports i earriage l: which eonsists preteralil v ot' pair oi spared upwardl v and outward]; extending supporting standards T \vhieh are spaeed t'roin raeh other and hraeed in any suitahle well known manner. The lower ends ot the standards are provided with rollers Q whieh are slidal le in the guidewa vs .i at the sides of the turn-table. 'lhe earriage 1 is provided with horiroi'itallv disposed arms 9 and with a horizontally disposed support or hearing 10. the lower end of the said support revolubly fit) receiving the lower end of a rod 11, the upper end of the said rod being mounted in the bearing of a support 12 at the carriage. This rod is provided at its upper and lower ends with fixed disks 13 to which are eccentriealtv pivoted the actuating members 14 of horizontally mo able spring bolts l5. These bolts are adapted to be engaged in the sockets 16 of keepers 17, the said keepers being secured to the car upon the vertical side portions of the doorways. A shaft is mounted at the upper end of each doorway and it is provided with suitably spaced rollers 15) which are adapted to he engaged with stops 20 upon the carriage 6 to limit the outward sliding movement of the latter. Stub shafts 21 are located adjacent to the lower ends of the doorways, and as shown, the rollers .22 of the shafts slidably support the arm 2 of the carriage. A horizontal shaft :24 is revolubly supported at its ends in bearings at the sides ot the carriage, and as shown, this shaft receives the bearing portion 25 of the arms 20 of a yoke, the said yoke being provided with an arm 27 to which secured the outer end of a helical spring 28, the inner end of the spring being connected in the eye 29 of a bolt 250. This bolt suitably mounted in the carriage ti and has operatively engaged therewith an adjusting wheel 3 the said u heel being arranged for operation whereby the voke ma be at'ljusted for a purpose to be l'iereinafter described. The shaft 24 has secured thereto the inner ends of arms which are provided at their outer ends with slide members 33, the said slide members being mounted upon the upper arms 31- of vertialtv disposed spaced \;'okes 313. The arms iii are each provided with a pair of rods 36 whose end portions are secured to cars 37. These rods have mounted thereon coil springs 38* whose inner ends bear against the slide members 33 to hold them centrally of the arms St. The upper arms .34 of the yokes have secured thereto horizontal rods I55) upon which the bracket it) of a horizontal head -11 are supported. Coil prings 42 are mounted upon the rods 39 to bear against the end portions of the brackets it") to hold the head 41 positioned immediately between the arms of the yokes 35 as will be understood.

The head at is revolubly connected with the member 43 of a mail bag collecting apparatns i This apparatus consists of a frame -15 which is formed with depending spaced tianges it} in which the ends of rods 1 4.7 are secured. These rods have slidablv mounted therein the brackets 18 of the substantially Lbshaped members it (lushioning elements :70 are interposed between the 1 bearing lin'arkets T5 and the depending flanges it? of the frame 45 whereb the collecting apparatus is mounted yieldmgly for the upper end of r sliding movement as is obvious. The members 49 are disposed horizontally and they are spaced from each other as shown parl tieularlv in Fig. l of the drawings and they have interposed lherebetween plates 51. These plates have arms "2 which are pivoted to the vertical portions of the members 4!). The vertical portions of the members 4'.) are provided with stop pins 53 which are adapted to be engaged by shoulders M upon the plates 51. One plate is formed with a dog 55 beneath which the connection por' tion no of a bail 5T engaged. This bail is formed with side arms and with an outer connecting arm 59. The bail is pivoted upon a horizontally disposed rod around which is coiled a spring 61 which exerts its tension against the bail. The lower fingers e2 are adapted to he moved through the channels (33 which are formed upon a corrugated sheet metal. platform 64. This platform is mounted upon outwardly extending arms (35 which are carried by the stationary frame 15b of the bag receiving apparatus which may be located at a mail receiving and delivering station. The outer ends of the arms (35 are provided with horizontally disposed pivoted brackets 67 which support vertical rollers at their outer ends. lhese arms are engaged by springs (38 which exert their tension to hold the brackets (37 against stops (3!) as shown in Fig. 1;) of the drawings.

The frame on is provided with a 1')luralit v of spaced members 70. a plurality of which being pivoted upon the shaft 71 of the platform 64. The remaining members are pivoted upon. a shaft 72. The members 70 which are pivoted upon the shaft 71 are itlt'll formed from upper and lower pivotallv connected sections 73 and 74. the upper section of each member being provided with a shoulder T5 which engages a similar shoulder T6 upon the section 74 to hold this section against movement in one direction. (using-s "T are mounted upon arms (35 upon the plat form Hi. and as shown, these casings are provided with slots T9 in. which the upper sections 73 of the members T0 are adapt ed for limited swinging movement, each cas ing being provided with a stop St) to hold the upper section 73 against swinging movo ment in one direction. The casings are provided with springs St which are engaged with the upper sections -73 to hold them normally against the stops Ht]. Plates M- l are mounted upon a pivoted rod 85 which latter is secured to the members 70. The l intermediate member 70 is provided with a l bracket 86 which is fOl'll'lQtl with fingers 87 I which are adapled to engage the adjacent member Tl) whereby all of the members may be moved in one direction simultaneously. 2 This ctmstrimtion is such that the intermediate plate is mounted for movement in two directions for a purpose to explained. Upon reference to Fig. t) of the drawings it will he seen that the memhers T0 are arranged in spaced parallel series so as to he aetuated upon movement ot' a train in either direetion.

The lower arms 88 of the yoltes an sup port a platform St) which is formed from eorrugated sheet metal, the said platform being formed with guideways 90 for aeeommodating the lower extremities of the men hers TO.

The frame ill supports a hag rereiving reeeptaele 91 whieh loeated immediately heneath the memhers T0 of the trame. This reeeptaele is provided with a eover whit-h is formed of seetions i and St?) whieh are hinged at their outer ends to the end walls of the receptacle, suitable springs i l heing employed for holding the sections of the door against a stop 95. The reeeptaele is provided at one side with a door Slit whieh is provided for the purpose of gaining access to the reeeptaele when it is desired to remove the mail hugs therefrom. A vertieally movahle platform 97 is yieldingly mounted upon springs 99 in the reeeptaele, and as shown. the said platform is eonneeted with the lower end of a rod 99 of a loeking mechanism. the upper end of the rod heing seeured to the lower end ot a helical spring 100. This spring is seeured to the arm ltlt of an angle lever. the arm 102 of the said lever being positioned hen *ath the stop 95. hen weight is applied to the platform 97 to depress it the locking meehanism will he aetuated autonnttieally to hohl the sections of the don! against swinging movement in either direirtion. thus preventing the to movil ot the contents of the reeeptaele hy any one not authorized to perform such duty. The reeeptaele is provided at its upper end portion with oppositely extending substantially V-shaped members 103 against who e surfaces guide rollers 104 may he en gaged so that in movement of a train its delivering and reeeiving apparatus will he eorreetly positioned immediately ahove the rtareptt'lele.

The platform 89 supports adjaeent to its end portions spring tension hat'ts 103. eaeh of which being slotted at 104" to reeeive the hooked end 107 of a hag retainer 108 which is adapted to extend longitudinally of the platform and whose free end is adapted to he yieldingly engaged with the hag to hold. it against easual displaeement as will he understood. suitahle operating lever 109 i provided For each shaft wherehy it may to move the hag retainer out. oi engagement with the hag.

The yokes 35 are eonneeted to ttlt'll other hy an areuate rail 110 against whose side faces are engaged spaeed rollers 111. These he hereinafter l rollers are earried by an arm 112 \vhieh is slidahle upon spaced rods 11 3. The shat't 1] of the earriage a is provided with an outwardly extending ear 11+ to whieh 1s PH? 1 oted for vertical movement guide hraeket 111". These hraekets reeeive the intermediate portions of the rods 113. and as shown. coil springs 1111 surround the forward ])U1' tions of the rods 113 and have their outer ends seated against the inner end of the arm 119. the inner ends of the sprin s hearing directly against the ljiraehets 11.). (oil springs 117 are roiled ahoul the rear ends of the said rods: and their torward ends hear against the inner end of the hraehets. the rear ends of the springs hearing against a head 118 which latter is employed for the purpose of eonneeting the rods with eat-h other at their rear ends. it may he stated that the said rods have their inner ends threaded and they receive elamping nuts which may he hrought into trietional eugagement with the head 11% to eoiupress the springs. The outer end of the arm 11; is termed with spaeed hat springs 119 \vhirh are adapted to he engaged with the rollers of the hraekets (1T tor a purpose to he hert ina'l ter explained.

The turn-tahle 3 supports a revoluhle shaft lfitl upon whieh is mounted a spring tension drum 121. This drum has wound thereon one end ot a eahle 122. the other end of the said eahle heing set-tired to a suitahle nnni' her of guide rollers 'l'll whieh are mounted upon the turn-tahle for guiding the eahle in its movement. drum i2?) is mounted upon the turn-tahle and its sha H is provided with a pinion 1f whieh is engaged with a pinion 12? upon one end o a rountershatt 129. the other end of the said shatt heing provided with a hevel pinion 123 whieh meshes with a. eorrespondingly formed piln ion at the lower end of a vertieal shaft 130. The upper end oi the shaft is provided with a hevel pinion \Ylllt'll meshes with a eorresponding pinion oa erank shaft 1231. The eonstruetion of. the spring drum and its eonner'tion with the earriago is sueh that the carriage is normally held within the on and when the ear-engaging holts to are nmved to their disengaged positions from their keep-- ers the earriage will he automatieally drawn into the car as will he understood. hen it is desired to move the earriage to its ex,- tended position the eranh shatl 1 31 van he actuated to wind the. eahle 19-7] onto the drum 125. The turndahle is provided with a slid ing holt 133 whieh is spring-presstal when h v it will he seated operativelv in the soeltet he moved against the tension of its spring or keeper 134 in the hottom ol' the ear. suitahle foot lever 13;? is ea rried h the turntahle and it is opt atively engaged with the sliding halt wherein it may he aetuated when it is desired to rotate the turn-tahle. It will of course he understood that the hotltlll tom of the car is provided with a socket member or keeper adjacent to each doorway for receiving the locking bolt.

is an auxiliary support for the yolies 23; i connect them with yieldingly supported slidable rods t ll} which are supported b v the carriage b and mounted preferably upon a horizontal shaft .37.

lo operation of the apparatus a mail bag to be delivered from the car mounted upon the platform 55), after which the car riage is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Should it be de sired to deliver a bag to the receiving and delivering apparatus of the car it. is placed upon the platform ilt of the frame (36. It will be seen that in movement of the car the receiving and delivering apparatus thereof will be moved directly above the platform St), the engagement of the bag with the members serving to move them inwardly and upwardly. Incident to the fact that these members are mounted with the exception of the intermediate member for swinging movement only in an inward direction the bag when positioned between the members of the two parallel series can not become misplaced. therefrom. lly engagement of the bag against the members in movement of the apparatus past its discharged position the bag will be effectively released from the retaining spring ltttl, and incident. to the provision of means wherelirv the intermediate member 70 of each series is free for movement in either directioi't the said retaining springs can be effectively withdrawn or moved outwardly. As soon as the delivering and receiving apparatus of the car has moved past its discharge position the bag will fall upon the sections 92 and t forming the hingctjl closure for the receptacle 91 and will be accurately deposited therein. ,lhespringstW for supporting the 'tlatform i act as a cushion to retard the downward movement of the platform. Assuming a bag to be placed upon the platform til of the frame (36 and the car moving, the menil'ters ill will grasp the bag and collect it. the impact of the bag against the intermediate plate it being sullicient to actuate it to release the bag retaining hail from the locking tltig' .75. whereupon. the bail will under the influence l' the spring ttl be brought vieldinglv into engagement with the bag to hold it against casual dis placement. As hereinbefore stated the roller carrying brackets 67 at the ends of the arm (35 of the frame on are free for swinging movement toward each other thus allowing the arm 1 12 to be engaged with the rollers in delivering a bag from the deliver inn and receiving apparatus of the ear to the receiving and delivering apparatus at the station. The construetitm is such that when a bag has been. delivered from the t j t t l l l l l l l l l l t l car the arm 112 will be engaged with the roller of the bracket 67 toward which it is approaching and when engaged therewith a slight rockimr nmvemcnt of the arm 112 will result. Incident to the fact that the arm is carried by the shaft 11 it will be seen that rocking movement of the shaft as above described will actuate the rods It to move their bolts out of engagement with the car. Immediately upon release of the bolts from the car the receiving and deliver ing apparatus of the car will be moved to its inoperative position. Tn other words the car receiving and delivering apparatus will. be moved directly into the car ready for the next operation.

It may be stated that the frame (36 is provided at. a point immediately above the re ceptacle and in spaced relation thereto with a guide member 1 37 which is adapted to co operate with the guide rollers 1 38 upon the arms 34 of the yokes 35. The under sur faces of the member at the end portions thereof are flared upwardly and outwardly and :1. "av from the down *ardly and out;- wardlv extending surfaces of the members 10 wherelrv a throat with flared upper and lower walls is provided at: each end of the said frame tilt. This construction is such that the collecting and t'lelivering apparatus of the car can be more accurately positioned with respect to the collecting and delivering apparatus of the frame (36. It will of course be understood that lhe springs 68 which are employed to exert their tension against: the brackets tlT to hold them normally against the stops 69 are very weak so that engagement. of the arm 11? therewith in collecting and receiving movement of the apparatus of the ear the arm 112 will not be rotated sutiicicntlv to release the looking mechanism from the car.

The collecting and delivering a pparatus of the car is provided with a. spring latch member 139 which may be automatically engaged with either the stub shaft 21 to limit the inward sliding nuwement of the carriagc.

I claim z l. Tn apparatus of the class described. a car having mm'able bag collecting and delivering mechanism adapted to be extended from either side of the car, locking bolts adapted to be engaged with the car to hold the said bag collecting and t lelivering mech anism extended therefrom. a frame located adjacent to the car and provided with bag collecting and delivering mechanism for cooperating with the bag collecting and delivering mechanism of the car. and means upon the frame for operating the said locking bolts whereby the bag collecting and delivering mechanism of the car can be moved to its inoperative position.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a

car having movable yieldingly supportedl bag delivering and collecting mechanism adapted to be extended from either side of the car to assume an operative position, locking means upon the mechanism for engaging the car to hold the mechanism in its op erative position, means for moving tie mechanism into the car upon release of the said locking mechanism, and stationary delivering and collecting mechanism disposed in the path of movement of the first named mechanism to cotiperate therewith said stationary mechanism having means for engaging the locking means of the first mechanism after delivering and collecting of the bags.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a car having a movable carriage mounted therein and provided with bag delivering and collecting mechanism ada ted to be extended from either side of tie car, means for limiting the outward movement of the carriage, bag delivering and collecting mechanism located in the path of movement of the first mechanism. and adapted to cooperate therewith, locking mechanism upon the carriage for engaging the car to hold the bag delivering and collecting mechanism thereof in its operative position revious to the discharge and collection 0 the bags, means u on the second mechanism for re leasing t e locking mechanism after movement of the first mechanism past the said second mechanism, and means for automatically moving the carriage into the car after release of the said locking mechanism.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a car having a turn table mounted therein, a carriage slidable on the turn table and provided with bag delivering and collecting mechanism adapted when the carriage is moved to the outward limit of its movement to be extended from one side of the car, means upon the carriage for limiting the outward sliding movement thereof, and bag delivering and collecting mechanism located in the path of movement of the first mechanism and adapted to cooperate there- With.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a car having a turn table mounted therein and provided with a locking dog for engaging the car to hold the turn table against rotation, a sliding carriage mounted upon the turn table and provided with bag delivering and collecting mechanism adapted to be extended to an operative position at either side of the car, locking means upon the carriage for engaging the car, spring means engaged with the carriage.for moving it to its inoperative position upon release of the said locking means, stationary mechanism for cooperating with the first mechanism, and means upon the stationary mechanism for actuating the said locking mechanism whereing mechanism yieldingly tihism, sai

by the first mechanism can be automatically moved into the car after delivery and collection of the bags.

6. In apparatus of the class described, a carriage having bag delivering and collect supported thereon, a rotary shaft mounted upon the carriage, locking mechanism operatively engaged with the shaft and adapted for looking engagement with the car to hold the carriage in an extended position, an arm yieldingly supported upon the shaft, a track carried by the said delivering and collecting mechanism, rollers carried by the arm to travel on the track, means for moving the mechanism to its inoperative position upon release from the car of the locking means,

stationary bag delivering and collecting.

mechanism located in the path of movement of the first mechanism, and means upon the second mechanism for engaging the said arm after delivery and collection of the bags to actuate said locking means and to move it to released position.

7. In apparatus of the class described, a car having bag collecting and delivering mechanism adapted to be extended to an operative position at either side of the car, a bag supporting platform carried by the mechanism, a stationary delivering and collecting mechanism having means for releasing the'bag from the said platform, a receptacle carried by the second mechanism, and inwardly swinging doors at the top of the receptacle.

8. In apparatus of the class described, a car having bag delivering and collecting mechanism, stationary bag collecting and delivering mechanism, the collector of the second mechanism comprising a receptacle, a spring platform mounted in the receptacle, inwardly swinging closures at the outer end of the receptacle, and platform actuated means for locking the closure against swinging movement in either direction after de posit into the receptacle of the bag.

9. In apparatus of the class described, a car having bag collecting and delivering mechanism embodying a plurality of substantially U-shaped members, pivoted plates between the sa1d members, spring tension bag engaging means adapted to be moved to its operative position upon inward swinging movement of one of the plates, a stationary be delivering and collecting mechsecond mechanism having a bag supporting platform adapted to support the bag in a position to be removed from the platform by the collecting members, a series of movable members carried by the said stationary collecting and delivering mechanism, plates pivotally mounted between the said last named members, one of said plates b 'ng adapted for swinging movement in ei her direction, means whereby the remaining plates can only be moved in one direction, a bag supporting platform upon the first mechanism for cooperating with the said pivoted plates and the said pivoted members of the second mechanism, and a receivin receptacle located beneath the said pivota 1y mounted plates and the said pivotally mounted members of the second named delivering and collecting mechanism.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a car having a ba collecting and delivering mechanism embo yin a plurality of collecting members, movabe plates between the members, bag-gripping means adapted to be moved into engagement with the bag upon movement of one of the plates, a stationary bag delivering and collecting mechanism, said second mechanism having a bagsupporting platform for supporting the bag whereby it may be collected by the said collecting members of the first named mechanism, a series of movable members carried by the said stationary collecting and delivering mechanism, plates pivoted between the said last named members, one of the said plates being adapted for swinging movement in either direction, the remaining plates being mounted for movement in one direction,

a bag-supporting platform upon the first mechanism for cooperation with the said pivoted plates and the said members of the second mechanism, and a receiving receptacle located in position to receive the bag after collection thereof by the second mechanism.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM M. BANKS. \Vitnesses S. H. POWELL, SAM WATTS. 

